Biswasahitya Granthamala - a Case of the Making of Children’S Literature

================================================================== Language in India www.languageinindia.com ISSN 1930-2940 Vol. 18:2 February 2018 India’s Higher Education Authority UGC Approved List of Journals Serial Number 49042 ================================================================ World Literature Without English: Biswasahitya Granthamala - A Case of the Making of Children’s Literature Sonali Ganguly ========================================================== Abstract This paper is an extensive study of the origin and evolution of children’s literature in Odia. In this paper, I intend to examine the major issues associated with the creation of children’s world literature. It is the study of the entire process of production, publication, circulation, and reception of literary works in the world literary market, followed by its significant role in imbibing a positive reading habit in the children. The paper proceeds to discuss the strategies involved in developing the children’s literature for a specific set of readers. I would also elucidate the existing cultural, linguistic and literal hegemony of English in the world literary market which demands a serious attention. Biswasahitya Granthamala is a remarkable contribution in the field of developing a new trend of literature and nurturing the reading habits. The selected world authors and the literary ==================================================================== Language in India www.languageinindia.com ISSN 1930-2940 18:2 February 2018 Sonali Ganguly World Literature Without English: Biswasahitya Granthamala - A Case of the Making of Children’s Literature 406 pieces across the world not only portray the global culture but also generates the adaptability and the thinking ability of the child to comprehend the global issues. Keywords: Child literature, Globalization, Production, Reception, Circulation, Translation, Biswasahitya Introduction Literature uplifts an individual morally and provides rich cultural nourishment along with a deep insight into the perception and comprehension of the global issues. The rapid accelerating impact of globalization has marked its footprints in every sphere of life including the field of literature. It has not only ensured the growth of world literary market but also had a manifold impact on the production, publication, circulation, and reception of literature across the world. The most significant impact of globalization is the increasing global dominance of the English language which implies linguistic hegemony. It not only deprives the right to study and learn the local language rather instigates to adapt to the linguistic domination that leads to mind control. The readers are exposed to the world literature but through English language textbooks which raises a matter of concern. The literature which consists the flavor of the world reaches to the readers only in one language i.e. English. Gayatri Spivak too expressed her concern regarding this threat of monolingualism and said, “English language world literature textbooks may become pervasive in the future.” Another issue that demands serious attention is the availability of online resources that affects the reading habit of this generation to a huge extent which is viewed as ‘the death of literature due to the shifting interest from reading to the internet’ by Wang Ning, a Chinese anthologist and translator of world literary texts (Ning, 173)’. The children and the students are inclined more towards the technical education pushing literature aside. This is a concern which has also been discussed by the experts. The possible solution of this issue is in the hands of the academicians as perceived by David Damrosch and Martin Puchner. They discussed the necessity of designing the course curriculum through which we could expect a radical change in the expansion of the reading horizon of the students. ==================================================================== Language in India www.languageinindia.com ISSN 1930-2940 18:2 February 2018 Sonali Ganguly World Literature Without English: Biswasahitya Granthamala - A Case of the Making of Children’s Literature 407 Biswasaitya Granthamala Biswasaitya Granthamala deals with these above-mentioned issues. It was the dream project of three great lovers of literature and thinkers. Sri Abhiram Mohapatra, Late Sridhar Mohapatra, and Sridhar Das first visualized the possibility of the compilation of world literary texts as Biswasahitya Granthamala in abridged Odia translation with an intention to develop a new reading habit among the children. It served a manifold objective. First, it is a way to introduce the culture and history of several countries across the globe in an abridged Odia version and secondly, It was expected to expand the reader’s horizon and prepare them for the better assimilation and understanding of the global culture and respond to the global issues. Origin and Evolution of Children’s literature Children’s literature as a genre received attention of the authors, scholars and researchers in the last phase of 18th century and the early decades of 19th century. The origin of children’s literature can hardly be traced exactly but Adrienne Rivera (2017) and M.O. Greenby (2014) in their respective works have emphasized that it has passed through several stages of evolution. The origin can be traced back to the oral folklore tradition, when, there was no books for children. For instance, children in India grew up listening to the stories of Lord Krishna or Lord Rama and other mythological characters, imagining the strength and valor of the great warriors of the time. The primary objective of those stories was to morally educate the children. Entertainment or amusement through stories was never thought of the. In Europe, it was in 1634, the first collection of folktale including ‘Cindrella’ and ‘Rupunzel’ was made available (Greenby, 2014). The children’s literature secured a place in the publishing industry by the end of 18th century. The journey from the traditional oral age to the golden age is elucidated in the form of a timeline below that clearly reflects the gradual changes of trends in children’s literature and the remarkable contribution of the authors. Timeline for Children’s Literature 16th Century-Oral Tradition 17th Century-Traditional Oral Literature ==================================================================== Language in India www.languageinindia.com ISSN 1930-2940 18:2 February 2018 Sonali Ganguly World Literature Without English: Biswasahitya Granthamala - A Case of the Making of Children’s Literature 408 1634 Giambattista Basile’s The Pentamerone 1656 John Cotton’s Spiritual milk for Boston Babes 1658 John Amos Comenius’ The Visible world in Pictures 1687 Nathenial Crouch’s Winter Evenings Entertainment 1671-72 James Janeway’s A Token For Children 1712 A Little Bok for Little Children 18th Century- Morality Tales (Didacticism/ realism) 1730 A Description of Three Hundred Animals 1740 Turning Point 1744 Mary Cooper’s Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book 1744 John Newbery’s A little pretty pocket 1746 Mary Homebred’s The Christmas Box 1749 Sarah Fielding’s The Governess 1751-52 Newbery’s The Lilliputian magazine 1765 The History of little Goody Two-shoes – Newbery 1783 Dorothy Kilner’s The life and Perambulations 1796 Maria Edgewoth’s The purple Jar 19th century - Golden Age (Fantasy Tales) 1800 Rapid Expansion of Children’s Literature 1823 The Brother Grimm’s fairy tales 1846 Anderson’s Fairy tales 1851 Ruskin Bond’s The king of the golden river 1856 Lewis Caroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland 1857 Thomas Hughes’ Tom Brown’s Schooldays ==================================================================== Language in India www.languageinindia.com ISSN 1930-2940 18:2 February 2018 Sonali Ganguly World Literature Without English: Biswasahitya Granthamala - A Case of the Making of Children’s Literature 409 1863 Charles Kingsley’s The water- babies: A fairt tale for a land baby 1871 George macdonald’s At the Back of the North wind 1874 Christina Rossetti’s speaking likeness 1879 Mrs Ewing’s Jackanapes 1888 Oscar wilde’s The selfish Giant 1894 William Morris’ The well at the world’s end 1895 H.G.Wells’ The Time Machine 20th Century 1900 L.Frank Baum’s The wonderful wizard of Oz 1902 Beatrix Patter’s Tale of Peter Rabbit 1902 E. Nesbit’s Five Children and it 1904 J.M. Barrie’s Pater pan 1908 Kenneth Grahame’s The wind in the willows The above timeline displays the broad division of children’s literature into three phases. The first phase was the oral tradition followed by the initiatives taken by a few authors to create rhyme books and picture books for children. The year 1740 can be marked as the turning point. The entire 18th century laid emphasizes on the morality tales intended to teach the behavioral and ethical lessons. The didactic and realistic form of literature dominated till the 19th century when the fantasy stories received momentum and the morality plays were openly criticized for limiting and suppressing the imagination of the children. The romantic authors in this phase followed ‘instruction with delight’ principle and nurtured the ways of thinking, beliefs, norms, moral and religious codes etc. Gradually the complex issues of psychology were also introduced by Maria Edgeworth. The readers could imagine themselves in the protagonist and learn to rectify their mistakes by perceiving the action of the protagonist. Biswasahitya Granthamala included the abridged version of several novels

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